Aeronautical Engineering

Types of Degrees Aeronautical Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many aerospace and aeronautical engineering graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,880
Doctor’s Degree	361
Graduate Certificate	134

What Aeronautical Engineering Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to aerospace engineering were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Aerospace Engineering Majors

Aerospace Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Aerospace Engineering Majors

When studying aerospace engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Aerospace Engineering Majors

As a aerospace engineering major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Aeronautical Engineering Major?

People with a aerospace engineering degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Aerospace Engineers	6.0%	$115,220
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering?

This major attracts more men than women. About 81% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of aerospace engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	159
Black or African American	40
Hispanic or Latino	130
White	1,076
International Students	341
Other Races/Ethnicities	134

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Aerospace Engineering, too. About 18.1% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• India
• China
• South Korea
• Malaysia
• France

How Much Do Aeronautical Engineering Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in aerospace and aeronautical engineering made a median starting salary of $86,822 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $83,517 (25th percentile) and $97,723 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a aerospace engineering degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Aerospace Engineering majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $113,680 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Aeronautical Engineering

Some careers associated with aerospace engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for aerospace engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	46.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.9%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	11.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.4%

Online Aeronautical Engineering Programs

In 2020-2021, 91 schools offered a aerospace engineering program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	1
Bachelor’s Degree	5	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	67	12
Post-Master’s	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	51	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Is a Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a aerospace engineering grad is $117,100 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 193% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,544,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Aeronautical Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to aerospace engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical Engineering	11,021
Mechanical Engineering	9,007
Civil Engineering	6,042
Computer Engineering	5,557
Biomedical Engineering	4,252
General Engineering	3,548
Systems Engineering	3,068
Industrial Engineering	3,028
Chemical Engineering	2,662
Other Engineering	1,820
Materials Engineering	1,810
Operations Research	1,191
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	928
Environmental Engineering	919
Robotics Engineering	560
Engineering Science	451
Nuclear Engineering	437
Manufacturing Engineering	423
Petroleum Engineering	401
Agricultural Engineering	332
Construction Engineering	288
Engineering Physics	286
Architectural Engineering	243
Geoscience Engineering	173
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	167
Engineering Mechanics	144
Mining Engineering	132
Ocean Engineering	112
Textile Engineering	96
Biological Engineering	80
Energy Systems Engineering	79
Marine Engineering	44
Metallurgical Engineering	40
Biochemical Engineering	21
Ceramic Engineering	20
Electromechanical Engineering	16
Surveying Engineering	11
Paper Science & Engineering	7
Forest Engineering	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Ian3055 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.